FLEETWOOD MAC'S BOB WELCH TRAGIC DEATH--65

Bob Welch, who helped shape Fleetwood Mac’s sound, dies at 65 tragically from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

  Mr. Welch was a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974. The band was formed in England in the late 1960s by guitarist Peter Green, and its name derived from two members of the group, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie.

Mr. Welch left the band in 1974, just before singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham joined the group. The reconstituted band had its breakthrough albums with “Fleetwood Mac” in 1975 and “Rumours” in 1977, both of which reached No. 1 and sold millions of copies.

His wife of 27 years, Wendy Armistead Welch, is his only known survivor.
“I never wanted to be a guitar gunslinger and a star,” Mr. Welch said in 2003. “I just wanted to make that great music.”